Practical life skills:Rotary Club sponsors Senior Day

Monday

Nov 4, 2013 at 12:01 AM

To help Redwood Valley High School seniors get a better sense of those life skills they'll need in the real world, the Redwood Falls Rotary Club sponsored a day-long event at the RACC on Friday: “Business and Social Etiquette: Preparing for Real Life.”

By Joshua DixonStaff Writer

Students learn a lot in schools, like chemistry, algebra, and reading.But sitting up straight during a job interview? The best way to not dribble soup on your shirt during a meeting with a client?In the real world, those skills may make a bigger difference in terms of how far you get ahead.To help Redwood Valley High School seniors get a better sense of those life skills, the Redwood Falls Rotary Club sponsored a day-long event at the RACC on Friday: "Business and Social Etiquette: Preparing for Real Life."Moderated by RVHS grad Ashlee Kerkhoff (now employed by the University of Maryland), the event gave seniors a day to hobnob with area business leaders to find out the social skills that help people get ahead in addition to the good grade point averages.Following a dinner where students could practice dining etiquette, everyone listened to mountain climbers Tim Schmidt and Jon Schmidt use their experiences to talk about teamwork.Some tips the Rotary Club members shared with the students:• "No matter what job you have, never make excuses. There are no good excuses, there are no bad excuses, there are just excuses."• "Show up on time, ready to work. Don't just do the minimum — go above and beyond to advance. The extra is what gets noticed."• Turn off the electronics (computer game, Facebook, etc.) and get involved in life. The kids you're competing with are the ones who have real-world experience and people skills."